Jane Austen: her 50 greatest characters

Miss Bates is a minor but pivotal character in Emma. She is the friendly and talkative aunt to Jane Fairfax who dotes on her niece and comes to stay with her friend, Mr Woodhouse, and his daughter, Emma. Poor Miss Bates never really does anything wrong, and yet is roundly looked down on by Emma, revealing our heroine to be something of a snob, who is taught the error of her ways by Mr Knightley.